Work perk: This maquiladora puts on weddings for employees

“How can we reach out and touch their personal lives outside the facility?” Salcedo said. “You’re looking at them beyond the sewing machine, beyond the molding equipment. The weddings are one element of a bigger strategy. … It turns into productivity and affects the bottom line.”

Markets and arts

Though most don’t go quite as far as offering wedding ceremonies, other companies have been striving to meet their workers’ personal needs, said Norma Yael Lomelí, president of the Tijuana Maquiladora Industry Association. A few, including DJ Orthopedics, have arranged for weekly outdoor markets near the plants and negotiate with vendors for low prices, she said.

The markets not only save money for the workers, but they “give them more time to spend with their families,” Lomelí said. “This improves their quality of life.”

In that vein, the maquiladora association joined forces with Tijuana’s Municipal Institute of Art and Culture, this month launching a program called MaquilArte that brings, dance, art exhibits, musical performances and literature readings directly to the factory workers. One of the first beneficiaries has been Plantronics, where the Baja California Orchestra performed Monday.

Bustamante said he came up with the idea of offering weddings at Plantronics more than a decade ago. The company arranges and pays for everything, including filling out the municipal marriage license application, obtaining a doctor’s certificate, bringing a judge to perform the ceremony and decorating the cafeteria. By taking care of such details for staffers, “they can focus and be more productive,” Bustamante said.

Among the Plantronics employees taking marriage vows last week was Ruth Martínez, a 38-year-old mother of four who has worked at the company for nearly seven years. She had lived with her 34-year-old partner, who works at a different maquiladora, for the past 13 years, but had been reluctant to commit. “I always thought, ‘If things don’t work out, I can pull out,’ ” she said.

Lessons learned on the job helped lead to a change of heart. “The company stresses workplace and personal values, and one of those is marriage,” Martínez said. “That is what motivates me to take this important decision.”

Motivating workers

Maquiladoras in Tijuana traditionally have provided incentive programs aimed at promoting workplace morale, such as parties, picnics, sports competitions and beauty contests. Plantronics Mexico and DJ Orthopedics de Mexico are two companies that have taken this a step further, offering an array of opportunities including:

Plantronics Mexico: On-site programs include arranging every aspect of an annual wedding day for employees, parenting classes, giving workers the chance to earn their high school diplomas and offering eye exams.

DJ Orthopedics de Mexico: Benefits include weddings, on-site schooling, a talent contest, lunchtime karaoke, arranging for an outdoor market near the company and delivering workers’ utility-bill payments to the required sites so they don’t have to leave the company campus.

In addition: The Tijuana Maquiladora Industry Association has partnered with Tijuana’s Municipal Institute of Art and Culture to bring various events to factories.